{"id":405,"date":"2013-09-06T16:01:29","date_gmt":"2013-09-06T21:01:29","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.nicholls.edu\/magazine\/?p=405"},"modified":"2013-09-06T16:01:29","modified_gmt":"2013-09-06T21:01:29","slug":"finding-the-sweet-balance-in-life","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.nicholls.edu\/magazine\/2013\/09\/06\/finding-the-sweet-balance-in-life\/","title":{"rendered":"Finding the sweet balance in life"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"Kelly<\/a><\/p>\n

Moist blackberry lemon muffins, bite-size chocolate donuts with sprinkles and a cake-size cinnamon roll drizzled with icing beautifully line the granite countertop at The PeaceBaker<\/a> in Metairie. Customers quickly become more than a bit overwhelmed by pastry chef Kelly Boffone\u2019s (BS \u201901) wide-ranging sugary selections of iced scones, cupcakes and cookies. So surprised by the unexpected menu, those who stop by The PeaceBaker are regularly moved to tears.<\/p>\n

\u201cAlmost every day someone new comes in and cries,\u201d Boffone says. \u201cThey\u2019ll ask, \u2018What\u2019s gluten-free?\u2019 and I\u2019ll say, \u2018Everything.\u2019 And then they\u2019ll ask, \u2018What\u2019s dairy-free?\u2019 and I\u2019ll say, \u2018Everything.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n

Up until now, New Orleans-area customers with allergies and special diets have been extremely limited in their baked-good choices. When they realize they can choose from all of The PeaceBaker\u2019s delicious-looking items, it\u2019s an emotional experience.<\/p>\n

Before Boffone opened her bakery at 6601 Veterans Blvd. in August 2012, she too was pastry-deprived. Food sensitivity issues, particularly her cow\u2019s milk allergy, made following standard recipes impossible and prevented her from enjoying most of the pastries and baked goods she created. But that didn\u2019t discourage her from pursing her lifelong pastry chef dreams.<\/p>\n

\u201cI always knew I wanted to bake; I\u2019ve been doing it since I was a kid,\u201d she says. \u201cWhen all of my friends were watching cartoons on Sunday mornings, I was there with my grandpa watching Justin Wilson and Nan Can Cook on PBS.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Kelly<\/a>Following graduation from Archbishop Chapelle High School, Boffone found a job in a local bakeshop, which reinforced her passion. Soon after, she enrolled at Nicholls, becoming one of the first students to complete the culinary arts bachelor\u2019s degree program.<\/p>\n

\u201cNicholls gave me everything I needed for professional success, and just as important, it gave me a real college experience \u2014 a real college life that you just don\u2019t get at other culinary schools,\u201d Boffone says.<\/p>\n

In the 12 years since she graduated from the Chef John Folse Culinary Institute<\/a>, Boffone has been a pastry chef at Charley G\u2019s restaurant in New Orleans; a faculty member at the prestigious Le Cordon Bleu in St. Paul, Minn.; and the executive pastry chef at Emeril\u2019s, New Orleans.<\/p>\n

\u201cBeing the executive pastry chef at Emeril\u2019s is the dream job for any pastry chef, but it got me soul searching, looking inside myself,\u201d she recalls. \u201cI discovered that I missed baking and getting my hands in things. I wanted to do simple items \u2014 not such elaborate stuff.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Kelly<\/a>While contemplating her future, Boffone spent a lot of time in the kitchen experimenting with dairy-free recipes. Through her research, she discovered that no bakeries in the area offered sweet treats for customers with food allergies.<\/p>\n

Excited about the challenge of creating good-tasting, made-from-scratch baked goods sans cow\u2019s milk and gluten, she decided that her bake shop would focus on this underserved customer base. News travels fast in this community of baked-good-deprived folks, and people soon began coming from near and far to taste The PeaceBaker\u2019s wares.<\/p>\n

\u201cI wanted to wait a couple of weeks to open so we could try out all the recipes in the new ovens and make sure everything was just right,\u201d she says. \u201cI displayed the three test items we made one day on colorful cake plates, and I heard a knock-knock on the door. I said, \u2018Oh, we are not open yet,\u2019 and literally people were like, \u2018Please, I see you have things ready. Is that a scone, a muffin? I\u2019d really like just one,\u2019 and I said, \u2018OK.\u2019 Word got out fast, and the next week I said, \u2018OK, we really have to start making things to sell!\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n

It\u2019s been almost a year since The PeaceBaker \u2014 aptly named for the peaceful effect these specialty baked goods have on customers\u2019 stomachs \u2014 first opened its doors. The shop has clearly grown into a place where folks want to hang out and linger a bit, and its d\u00e9cor \u2014 energetic, colorful and just a bit funky \u2014 is reflective of the owner\u2019s infectious, passionate personality. Up at 2 a.m. and at work by 3 a.m. to begin baking, Boffone is fully committed to keeping her menu seasonal and evolving for her loyal clientele.<\/p>\n

\"Kelly<\/a>\u201cWe have to make everything fresh daily because our shop is small, the shelf life is short and quality is critical,\u201d she says. \u201cEach morning, I decide what to bake that day based on what\u2019s fresh and in season. If it\u2019s blueberry season, we bake blueberry coffee cake, scones and muffins.\u201d<\/p>\n

Not one to sit on her dairy- and gluten-free laurels, Boffone has big plans for The PeaceBaker\u2019s future. She\u2019s busy scouting the perfect location for a second shop, and her five-year goal is to open an allergy-friendly caf\u00e9 that sells take-and-go meals, something not currently available for her dietary-challenged clientele.<\/p>\n

But Boffone doesn\u2019t just view herself as an entrepreneur and chef. She has a deep-seated need to use her culinary skills to bring emotional experiences to customers, to connect people with similar struggles and to enrich and support the community she lives in.<\/p>\n

\u201cBaking is my calling, but The PeaceBaker is really about so much more than just serving baked goods to allergy-sensitive customers,\u201d Boffone says. \u201cI want The PeaceBaker to be all about community and helping people by providing a friendly gathering place, donating our tip-jar proceeds to local charities and displaying local artwork. It\u2019s about using my God-given talent to make a difference.\u201d<\/p>\n

\u2014 Written by Renee Piper, director of university relations<\/em><\/p>\n

This article originally appeared in the spring 2013 issue of The Colonel alumni magazine. Click\u00a0here<\/a>\u00a0to read the entire issue.<\/em><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Moist blackberry lemon muffins, bite-size chocolate donuts with sprinkles and a cake-size cinnamon roll drizzled with icing beautifully line the granite countertop at The PeaceBaker in Metairie. Customers quickly become more than a bit overwhelmed by pastry chef Kelly Boffone\u2019s (BS \u201901) wide-ranging sugary selections of iced scones, cupcakes and cookies. So surprised by the […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":6,"featured_media":406,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"site-sidebar-layout":"default","site-content-layout":"","ast-site-content-layout":"default","site-content-style":"default","site-sidebar-style":"default","ast-global-header-display":"","ast-banner-title-visibility":"","ast-main-header-display":"","ast-hfb-above-header-display":"","ast-hfb-below-header-display":"","ast-hfb-mobile-header-display":"","site-post-title":"","ast-breadcrumbs-content":"","ast-featured-img":"","footer-sml-layout":"","ast-disable-related-posts":"","theme-transparent-header-meta":"","adv-header-id-meta":"","stick-header-meta":"","header-above-stick-meta":"","header-main-stick-meta":"","header-below-stick-meta":"","astra-migrate-meta-layouts":"default","ast-page-background-enabled":"default","ast-page-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"ast-content-background-meta":{"desktop":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"tablet":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""},"mobile":{"background-color":"var(--ast-global-color-5)","background-image":"","background-repeat":"repeat","background-position":"center center","background-size":"auto","background-attachment":"scroll","background-type":"","background-media":"","overlay-type":"","overlay-color":"","overlay-opacity":"","overlay-gradient":""}},"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-405","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"yoast_head":"\nFinding the sweet balance in life - The Colonel<\/title>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"index, follow, max-snippet:-1, max-image-preview:large, max-video-preview:-1\" \/>\n<link rel=\"canonical\" href=\"https:\/\/www.nicholls.edu\/magazine\/2013\/09\/06\/finding-the-sweet-balance-in-life\/\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Finding the sweet balance in life - The Colonel\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Moist blackberry lemon muffins, bite-size chocolate donuts with sprinkles and a cake-size cinnamon roll drizzled with icing beautifully line the granite countertop at The PeaceBaker in Metairie. 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